With the increasing number of media content series (e.g. television series) available to a individuals, it is increasingly likely that a user may not hear of a series until after the first episodes or even seasons have been aired. Thus, a problem arises when a user is accessing a later episode of a media content series and the user has missed previous episodes that may be important to fully enjoy the currently accessed content. This problem is exacerbated by the number of media providers and media outlets that create and distribute content to users. Moreover, the sheer number of series available, and the busy schedule of today's society makes it harder see each episode of content.
One solution to the aforementioned problems is the increasing popularity of personal video recorders (PVR's such as TiVo or similar services offered through a cable/satellite provider subscription). PVR's allow the user to watch content at times that comport with their schedule. However, the use of PVR's does not solve the problem of accessing content after the content is aired or when a later episode is being aired. Another limitation associated with a PVR is that the user has to be aware of the series content ahead of time in order to schedule a recording of the series content. Using a PVR also does not solve the problem of getting up to date with series content that is already in progress.
Currently, a user must actively search for episodes through content providing services (e.g. OnDemand, Fancast, Netflix, Hulu, etc) and browse through and access any available episode content. However, this is daunting and tiring task and may not produce a desirable experience to the user because the content may only be accessible on a device that is not the primary content access device. For example, the manual searching of a content provider website for previously aired episodes of particular television program may result in these episodes only being accessible on a computer rather than a television. This may not be acceptable to certain viewers because of the screen size and the lack of familiarity accessing television content using a computer.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a system that automatically acquires past episodes of content associated with a currently accessed piece of content thereby providing the user with all the necessary information to enjoy the currently accessed content.